EPA ordered to map America's recycling gaps—and report what's actually working
H.R. 4109 — Recycling and Composting Accountability Act · Filed by Joe Neguse (D-CO) · 10 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 24, 2025 · Markup held
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What it does
This bill directs the EPA to gather detailed data on recycling and composting infrastructure across the U.S., including the number and types of facilities, materials they accept, contamination rates, and end-market prices for recycled materials. It also requires the EPA to report on federal agency recycling practices and to study how recyclable materials are being diverted from reuse markets. The bill authorizes $4 million annually through 2029 to fund these data-collection and reporting activities.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to mandate EPA data collection, reporting, and coordination with states and tribes on recycling and composting infrastructure. It is a transparency and accountability mechanism, not a regulatory mandate or subsidy.
What the text implies
- The bill's definition of 'recyclable material' and 'recycling' is narrowly tied to materials that have an existing or developing reuse market; materials without end-market demand may not be counted, potentially masking systemic recycling failures.
- Federal agency reporting requirements (Section 4) may reveal that government procurement practices lag private-sector sustainability efforts, creating political pressure for federal procurement reform.
- The study on 'diversion from circular market' (Section 5) may expose that significant volumes of collected recyclables are being landfilled or exported rather than reused, potentially implicating both state programs and private waste handlers.
- Confidentiality protections for 'privileged or confidential information' may allow companies to withhold proprietary data on end-market sales and facility capabilities, limiting transparency despite the bill's stated accountability purpose.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens benefit from transparency about recycling and composting systems—understanding what infrastructure exists, where gaps are, and how well programs work enables informed policy and consumer choice. The bill imposes no new restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies; it only requires government and voluntary industry reporting. The data collected may help identify barriers to recycling access and inform future improvements.
Who stands to gain
- waste management and recycling service providers (data collection contracts)
- environmental consulting firms (study and reporting contracts)
- composting facility operators (infrastructure inventory may drive investment)
Named in the bill
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), Comptroller General of the United States, States, Units of local government, Indian Tribes, Federal agencies, Materials recovery facilities, Composting facilities, Solid Waste Disposal Act, Save Our Seas 2.0 Act
Where it stands
10 cosponsors: 7 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
- Jun 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 24, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
- May 14, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
23 lobbying clients named this bill on 39 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $65,277,724 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 97% of bills with at least one filing.
Joe Neguse, the sponsor, reported $1,076,229 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. — $54,660,000 on 3 filings
- Dow Chemical Company Dba Dow — $2,740,000 on 2 filings
- Lyondell Chemical Company — $1,530,000 on 2 filings
- Coca-cola Company — $1,450,000 on 1 filing
- International Paper — $1,340,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (13,560 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 21, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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